MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SMERCONISH: Congressman Scalise, I think we have got you now. Why, sir, does this necessitate 33 votes? Don`t you think folks already got the message as to how the House feels?

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R), LOUISIANA: Well, look, first of all, this is the first time since the Supreme Court made their decision that confirmed that it is a massive tax increase that we have had a chance to go back and say, let`s have another opportunity to repeal Obamacare.

Look, it`s been over 30 months since the Senate has passed a budget. That doesn`t matter we stop doing our job in the House and passing a budget.

By the same token, you know, if you look at this bill -- you know, Nancy Pelosi famously said you`ve got to pass it to find out what`s in it.

Well, the American people don`t like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama`s vision
of a government-run health care system.

You know, we want to give people the chance to repeal this, start over and actually fix the problems in health care and instead of the massive tax increases on middle class families and in this bill, as well as the increased health care costs and in the government coming between doctors and patient.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, GUEST HOST: What alternative is the Republican Party now putting forth having achieved this 33rd vote on rejecting Obamacare?

SCALISE: We`ve got a series of things that we put forward to reform health care and actually lower the cost. One thing we passed just a few weeks ago was a major medical liability reform bill that will save $100 billion in Medicare and in health care overall and actually lower the cost of health care. And in addition to that, of course, Obamacare takes $500 billion out of Medicare and which is expedited the about bankruptcy of Medicare.

So, we`ve taken steps to shore up Medicare and make sure it doesn`t go bankrupt. We passed a number of bills and we`re ready to go with even more once we get repeal.

SMERCONISH: Is there anything that will be introduced and voted on between now and November that would take care of the 30 million who are uninsured and will be insured according to the Affordable Care Act in the event there is a replacement scenario?

SCALISE: Right. Well, outside groups have already confirmed that millions of Americans will lose the health care they have that they like under Obama care. So, what we`ve done is passed measures and we`re going to continue to bring this up, pass measures that will actually increase access and lower costs for not only the millions of Americans that are uninsured but the millions of Americans that have health care today that they like, that that health care is jeopardized by Obamacare.

And that`s just not -- that`s not just from outside groups. We are already seeing small businesses saying they can`t comply with this law.

Seventy-five percent of businesses that have looked at the law said we don`t know how we can keep providing health care for our employees that they like. So, Obama --

SMERCONISH: I know that -- I know, sir, that if Chris were here, he`d be saying something like there were eight years on President Bush`s watch and 12 years before Clinton where the party -- Republican Party didn`t put forth a health plan.

Is anything going to change if you get your wish?

SCALISE: I`m not sure what Chris would have said but I know -- I wasn`t there when that happened. I know what we are trying to do right now. We brought bills forward and I co-sponsored many that would lower the cost of health care, fix the real problems like making sure that people with pre-existing condition aren`t discriminated against.

But you also have to make sure you`re not gutting Medicare with $500 billion in cuts that the president has in his bill and the hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on middle class families that broke the president`s own pledge where he said he wouldn`t raise tax owes middle class families -- he did it under Obamacare.

We are trying to set the record straight, repeal this and start over and fix the real problems.

SMERCONISH: Thank you, Congressman Steve Scalise.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source